Originally posted September 29 2008

So I am hiking with my kids through the wilds of PA. The kids, who are naughty, are struggling. They are ill prepared for exertion. Placement is a world where sitting on your ass and doing nothing is the norm.

That’s a lie.  Placement is a place where sitting on your ass and doing nothing while bitching about having nothing to do is the norm.

They bitch loudest when an alternative to nothing is offered, which they promptly refuse.  because it is boring.  So when not in school they pretty much do nothing. Except bitch.  Did I mention that?  They always bitch.
This always pisses me off as part of my job was to offer weekend activities for the kids. They would never take part. I would offer to take the kids up to the gym to play basketball, they would think about it and then they would refuse to go, why because its more fun sitting playing basketball on an Xbox, while bitching about having nothing to do.  Bitching about having nothing to do except play basketball on a play station is much better than running up and down getting sweaty.
Placement is all about bitching. You bitch until you get what you want. What do they want? They want the right to bitch about anything they want. They will bitch all day just as long as they don’t actually have to do anything for themselves to make change happen.

So we are marching through the Forrest and the kids are complaining that they are going to die. I assure them that no one is going to die. No one has ever died doing what we do. But they are pretty sure death is but a heartbeat away. Granted some of the hills are steep, but my pack is heavier and I seem to be doing fine.
We toddle on.
“Yo! How do you do this shit?” Naughty kid asks. “this shit is tripping”  (this has nothing to do with stumbling)
Very patiently I tell him how I do it. I explain what you need to do to make the pack feel lighter. I explain that pulling your pants over your ass makes it easier to walk. I explain wearing a beanie in the middle of summer, though cool looking, makes it really fucking hot. I explain about tightening the waist belt to ease the load on your shoulders, I tell them that wearing a 40 pound pack like a school bag (on one shoulder) is dumb and counter productive.
I know all these thing work because I do them. I do them every fucking day we hike. They watch me do them, there is no secret. I model the behaviors these kids need to adopt. That is my job – to educate these kids about the way of the forest.  (that’s not really my job, but that’s what I tell my friends, who don’t get what I do and only ask to be polite. They are happy with their ignorance as the terror of what I really do would make them uncomfortable)
The kid listens to what I have to say, he mulls over my advice, and then does nothing. He walks away and bitches like before.

Do not ask for my advice and then ignore it and keep on bitching. If you ask for advice and then refuse to listen this negates your right to bitch. At least try what the experts tell you. If you try it and it fails then bitch all you want. But until then shut the fuck up.
I am worried that this is not just at trait of naughty kids but fast becoming the America way. I saw this all the time when I worked as a personal trainer,  I saw it when I was confronted with a killer snake in Australia, but they are tales for another day.